Patrick Covington joins ETSU Head Coach Will Healy’s coaching staff in early 2025. Covington, who has over a decade of coaching experience at the Division I level, will be the Bucs’ Offensive Line Coach and Run Game Coordinator.
Covington comes to Johnson City after spending the past two seasons as the Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach at fellow SoCon school, The Citadel. In 2024, Covington helped coach quarterback Johnathan Bennett to a season that ended with him being named to the All-SoCon Second Team.
Before The Citadel, Covington spent three seasons as the offensive coordinator at Lamar in Beaumont, Texas.
The Cardinals possessed one of the most balanced offenses in college football in 2022 as they averaged 175.7 rushing yards per game and 173.7 yards a game through the air.
Before his time at Lamar, Covington spent 10 years working as the offense line coach at Coastal Carolina, serving as the assistant head coach in his final season in 2019.
During his time in Conway, the Chanticleers led the conference in fewest sacks allowed twice. He has also coached players to a total of 20 all-conference honorees, including All-Americans Jamey Cheatwood, Chad Hamilton, and Voghens Larrieux.
In 2019, the Coastal Carolina offense recorded over 400 yards of total offense five times, including a season-high 636 yards in the road win at UMass. Behind the offensive line, the Chants were 23-for-29 (79.3 percent) on fourth-down attempts, which was the second-best percentage both nationally and in the Sun Belt, while the 23 fourth-down conversions were tied for the third-most nationally behind only Army and Navy with 26.
In CCU’s first year in the NCAA FBS and Sun Belt Conference in 2017, Coastal had the youngest offensive line in the nation for the second half of the season featuring two true freshmen, two redshirt freshmen, and a sophomore. However, Coastal rushed for over 100 yards four times while rolling up 434 total yards at Sun Belt co-champion Appalachian State and 359 yards at Arkansas.
In his first seven seasons with Coastal, Covington mentored an offensive unit that ranked among the nation’s best in rushing, while climbing all the way to No. 1 in the national rankings in 2014.
Before returning to Coastal for the 2010 season, Covington spent three years at the Air Force Academy working with the Falcon’s offense. In 2009, Covington helped the Falcons to an 8-5 record and a victory over Houston in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. Covington worked closely with the offensive line for three years, which was one of the best in the league, and finished second nationally in rushing with an average of 299.5 yards per game in 2007. Air Force’s rushing average in 2007 was its best since winning its only national rushing title in 2002 with a 307.8 per-game average. The Falcons won their 26th conference rushing title in 2009 and third straight with Covington’s assistance.
Covington was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Coastal Carolina for the 2006 season and was part of a coaching staff that led the Chanticleers to the Big South Conference championship with a 9-3 record.
Covington is a 2006 graduate of Furman where he was a three-year starter for Paladins from 2002-05. A two-time Southern Conference all-conference selection, he was rated as the No. 6 guard in NCAA I-AA football by The Sports Network. He was a Sports Network First-Team All-American and an Associated Press Second-Team All-American in 2005.
In 2005, the Furman offense averaged a school-record 469.9 yards of total offense per game. The Paladins ranked third in the nation in rushing and reached the semifinals of the 2005 NCAA I-AA Playoffs. Covington was also a team captain his senior year and was a 2006 National Strength and Conditioning All-American.
He and his wife, Louise, have one son, Gus, and one daughter, Annie.
